Setback to BJP in Gujarat as Congress sweeps Amul Dairy polls

In a setback to the ruling BJP in Gujarat, Congress swept Amul dairy elections, winning eight out of 12 seats in the elections to the board of directors representing the 11 blocks of the Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Limited, popularly known as Amul Dairy.

The elections were held on Saturday after the stipulated period of five years. Despite, BJP govt’s effort to defeat Congress, Ramsinh Parmar along with Congress MLA Rajendrasinh Parmar managed to secure victory for the grand old party in one of the most prestigious brand’s union in India.

BJP MLA from Matar Kesarisinh Solanki lost to Congress’ Sanjay Patel, who had contested against him in the 2017 Assembly polls. Congress MLA from Anand Kanti Sodha Parmar won with 41 votes while Borsad MLA belonging to Congress, Rajendrasinh Parmar, who is also the vice-chairman of Amul, won the Borsad-Anklav seat.

As per media reports, Rajendrasinh Parmar’s victory in Borsad was an all-out win for the Congress as the veteran leader bagged all the 93 votes cast in the Borsad block.

With around 1,050 registered voters, the elections held on Saturday had seen a voter turnout of 99.71%. Bimal Shah, a prominent Congress leader of the region was quoted as saying by the local media that “The victory reflects the popularity and strong base of Congress. We will continue to work for the people.”

Incidentally, Brand Amul has recently faced backlash for promoting a show on controversial Sudarshan TV in social media.